High Dose Intravenous Vitamin C (HDIVC)
Preclinical studies report high-dose intravenous Vitamin C improves the cancer killing capability of chemotherapeutics such as:
HDIVC has showed an ability to reduce fatigue and other side effects from chemotherapy (29, 30).
In combination with radiotherapy: preclinical studies
There is significant evidence HDIVC acts as a radio-sensitizer in radiation and chemo-radiation preclinical studies (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41). HDIVC enhances cell radiation cytotoxicity in addition to offering protection from radiation damage in normal surrounding tissue. There are examples of combination radio-chemotherapy with high dose VitC increasing overall survival by 50%.
Complementary cancer therapy: clinical studies
Clinical trials have shown that HDIVC combined with chemo and/or radiation increases overall survival and progression free survival compared to institutional averages, decreases toxicities compared to patients treated without IVC, and is considered safe and well tolerated (42).
New research from a phase II clinical trial shows high dose intravenous vitamin C doubles survival time for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Phase II and III trials for other cancer types are ongoing but preclinical and empirical data unequivocally show significant benefit in treatment response, survival time, and improved quality of life.
16 clinical trials have included medium to high dose IVC in cancer treatment.
The Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Cornell University Weill Medical College, and Kansas Medical Center are all currently performing clinical trials.
Which cancer types is high dose vitamin C effective against?
Studies demonstrate high dose intravenous vitamin C can kill cancers cells and improve conventional treatments against the following cancer cell types:
Breast
Pancreatic
Colorectal
Prostate
Lung
Ovarian
Cervical
Melanoma
Leukemia
Lymphoma
Head and neck
Oral squamous
Gastric
Multiple myeloma
Glioblastoma
Myelodysplastic syndrome
Vitamin C damages cancer cell DNA via Fenton reaction
Tumors generally retain increased levels of iron in and around their cells (43). When large amounts of vitamin C come into contact with iron it generates hydrogen peroxide (H202) and hydroxyl radicals (OH) (44). Cancer cells have a limited ability to neutralize hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals compared to healthy cells, thus causing selective damage to cancer cells.
This idea that high dose intravenous vitamin C may be misunderstood by your oncologist. Often oncologists advise against the use of antioxidants during treatment, however, high doses of vitamin C cause oxidative stress and DNA damage in cancer cells. Recent clinical studies prove that HDIVC is destructive to cancer cells by a variety of mechanisms.
Vitamin C creates an energy crisis in cancer cells
The Fenton reaction converts vitamin C (ascorbic acid) into its oxidized form, dehydroascorbic acid (DHA), which enters cancer cells through glucose transporters (45), and interferes with glycolysis inside cancer cells, which often rely heavily on glycolysis for energy. An influx of DHA in the cancerized cells inhibits glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, disrupting glucose transport and ATP production. This disruption can lead to oxidative stress, damage to cellular components, and ultimately cell death.
HDIVC is safe for cancer patients
High dose vitamin C is regarded as having an “outstanding safety profile” (46). Published clinical studies report that high dose intravenous vitamin C is well tolerated by patients and no significant adverse events can be directly attributed to VitC.
There are, of course, contraindications based on past medical history, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, poor kidney function, etc. Please schedule a free discovery call to discuss if you are a good candidate for intravenous vitamin C.
